Turbine-wheel



N0. 753,111: PATENTED FEB. 23, 1904. J. WILKINSON. TURBINE WHEEL.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 31, I903.

NO MODEL.

k. I I QN 0 A -1- o L I2 w ezzfor UNITED STATES Patented February 28,1904.

PATENT OFFICE. I

JAMES WILKINSON, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR TO THE WIL- KIN SONSTEAM TURBINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF ALABAMA.

TURBINE-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 753,111, dated February23, 190

Application filed July3l, 1903. smart. 167,733. (NomocleL) To an whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEsWILKINsON, aciti zen of the United States,residing at No.1212 North Seventeenth street, Birmingham, in the countyof Jelferson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Turbine-VVheels, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in the construction ofbucket-wheels or rotors for elastic-fluid turbines with a view toproviding them with detachable vanes or buckets in the simplest and mosteconomical manner.

It is the object of my invention to adapt a turbine rotating element,whether a wheel, drum, or cone, to receive a series of overlappingconcavo-convex vanes, either simple or compound, and to retain themsecurely in place against pressure or centrifugalforce by aretaining-ring, which can be easily manufactured and attached but whenin place holds the vanes firmly and rigidly in place.

Myinvention is also applicable for use in connection with the stationaryblades or intermediates mounted within the turbine-casing.

The construction and arrangements of parts embodying my invention andhereinafter more fully explained are illustrated in the accom panyingdrawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a side view of a turbine-wheel with thelocking-ring partly broken away and several vanes separated sufficientlyto illus-v trate their construction. of a wheel, showing part ofthevanes in section and the rest in plan. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionthrough line a, as, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail view ofone of thevanes-or buckets .of the single or simple type. Figs. 5 and 6 illustrateacompound vane for reversing turbines. Figs. 7 and Sshow areversing-vaneadapted to operate at half-speed in one direction. Fig. 9 illustratesthe manner of, attaching a double row of vanes to a wheel. Fig. 10 is aview of the= turbine -casing with a series of fixed blades, as shown inFig. 8, held in place. Fig. 11 is another form ofacom: pound vanecapable. of a reversing and a halfspeedaction in one direction, while inFig. 12

Fig. 2 is a plan view.

the vane is constructed for a full and half speed action in the samedirection. Fig. 13 is a section through line 3/ y of Fig. 8. Fig. 14illustrates a method of securing the small half-speed vanes of acompound vane element.

The rotor-wheel 1 is provided with a flange 2, undercut or rabbeted at?)and circumferentially disposed around one side of its periphery or rim4. The other side of the wheels rim is cut away to form an annularshoulder 5, which is engaged by an annular recessed ring 6, securelybolted to the rim by screws 7. This ring extends above the periphery 4to a height corresponding with flange 2 and is undercut by an annulargroove leaving shoulder 8 similar to 3 and being sufficiently wide toengage shoulder 5 on the rim for the purpose of increasing its retainingstrength. When secured in place, this ring forms, with the flange 2, aninverted-T-shaped peripheral recess for the reception of the base-blocks9 of the vanes 10, which conform in shape with this recess and are heldsecurely in place by its undercut sides.

Thevanes or buckets 1O correspond in width withthe wheel-rim and arearranged so that both ends of eachvane symmetrically overlap the convexportion of the adjacent vane. The vanes would therefore be of greaterwidth than their base-blocks 9, and it is obvious that even-consideringthese base-blocks sufficiently thick to serve as spacers the ends of thevanes must necessarily extendbeyond them in a forward direction the samedistance that they overlap the adjacent vanes. These blocks arepreferably formed integral with the vanes and are joined to theirthickened central portions, while the end portions of the vanes extendto either side and forward of them.

The main difliculty which would naturally be encountered in mountingvanes of this character having integral spacer base-blocks would be theinserting of the last vanes of the row. This is obviated by firstassembling the desired number of vanes required 'to form a completecircular row, for-which purpose a mandrel or frame of any suitableconstruction may be used, and then collectively mounting them around therim and securing them in place by the ring 6. When it is necessary toreplace a vane, they can all be readily removed and reinserted after thevane has been replaced in the mandrel. This arrangement,

however, is only necessary when the base-" blocks serve also as spacers,for if separate spacing-blocks be used the vanes could all be insertedseparately through a recess inone of the flanges, which would then beformed integral with the rim and the spacing-blocks introducedafterward. In this case a segment only of ring 6 would be used to closethe insertion-recess in the flange. I prefer to use spacer base-blocksas furnishing a firmer support for the vanes 10, whose outer ends havecrescent-shaped flanges or abutments 11 so arranged that when the vanesare assembled they engage the convex sides of adjacent vanes and closethe outer ends of the vane-compartments in the same manner as a tire orannular band commonly in use and for the same purpose. This is also asource of additional strength, for the vanes are braced against eachother at both ends, which makes them capable of standing a pressurestrain much greater than ordinary independent vanes.

v The base-blocks are firmly held between the recessed flange and ring,which are made amply strong to withstand lateral and centrifugal strain.The annular channel formed by the flange and ring may be wedge-shaped ordovetailed in cross-section, or it may have any other conformationcalculated to hold the vanes securely in place.

In Figs. 8 and 10 I show the inner periphery of the turbine shell orcasing 12 provided with an annular undercut groove or channel 13 and arecessed ring 1 1, engaging a shoulder 12 on the shell, to which thering is bolted in the same manner as in the case of the wheel. A row ofstationary guide-vanes or intermediates 15 are mounted in said channelby their base-blocks and have end flanges or abutments 11.

The periphery 1 of the wheel-rim may be undercut on each side of thecenter and two retaining-rings used if it be desired to dispose two rowsof vanes around the'wh'eel, as shown in Fig. 9.

My improved retaining means are particularly adapted for use with any ofthe several compound vanes which may be readily assembled and insertedin the wheel. Thus in Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a compound vanefor reversing at the same speed inboth directions, while in Figs. 7 and8 either the forward or reversing motion is reduced to halfspeed byemploying two rows of small vanes 17 with a stationary row ofintermediates 15 to fractionally abstract the velocity of the fluid.According to Fig. 11 the vane is adapted to drive the turbine forward attwo speeds, either full or half, and to reverse at full speed, while inFig. 12 it will drive at a full or half speed in a forward direction. Byincreasing the number of rows of small vanes 17 the turbine could begiven any desired fractional rate of the full speed, which could be usedin a twospeed forward, reversing, or combined forward and reversingvane.

Between the several buckets of the compound vanes I interposespacer-blocks 16, preferably of an equal depth with the base-blocks,which brace the vanes at their outer ends and form by abutting againsteach other continuous dividing-rings between the rows of buckets. Theseblocks maybe made slightly larger than the base-blocks to compensate theradial disposition of the vanes. In Fig. 1 1 I have illustrated a mannerof securing the small speed-reducing vanes 17 in the abutments'16. Thusone of each pair of vanes willhave a shank 18, which enters an opening19 in block 16 and is secured therein by atransverse pin 20 passingthrough said shank and the hole or opening in said block. The othervanes may be formed integral with the block, by which arrangement Iavoid the difliculty experienced in drilling such small overlappingvanes out of the solid steel.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an elastic-fluid turbine, a'vane-bearing element, in combinationwith a row of compound overlapping vanes detachably mounted in saidelement.

2. In anelastic-fluid turbine, a vane-bearing element, in combinationwith a row of compound two-speed vanes detachably mounted in saidelement.

3. In an elastic-fluid turbine, a vane-bearing element, in combinationwith a row of compound two-speed and reversing vanes detachably mountedin said element.

4:. In an elastic-fluid turbine, a vane-bearing element, a plurality ofcompound vanes detachably secured therein, each comprising a plurality'of concavo convex buckets, a spacer base-block, and abutments betweensaid buckets.

5. In an elastic-fluid turbine, avane-bearing element, a plurality ofcompound vanes detachably secured therein, each comprising a pluralityof buckets of varying dimensions.

6. In an elastic-fluid turbine, a vane-bearing element, a plurality ofcompound vanes detachably secured therein,-each comprising a pluralityof buckets some of which are detachably mounted in said compound vane.

7 In an elastic-fluid turbine, a vane-bearing element having 'a'row ofcircumferential vanes around its periphery, and an outer row of vanesdetachably mounted on the vanes of said first-mentioned row.

8. In an elastic-fluid turbine, a vane-bearing element, a row offull-speed vane elements peripherally mounted thereon, and aplurality ofrows of fractional-speed vanes detachably mounted on the elements ofsaid first-mentioned row.

9. In an elastic-fluid turbine, a row of compound vanes detachablymounted in a vanebearing element, each comprising reverselydisposedbuckets whose sides overlap the sides of adjacent buckets in theirrespective rows, integral spacerblocks interposed between said buckets,and a base-block.

10. In an elastic-fluid turbine, a vane-bearing element, 'a row ofcompound reversingvanes peripherally mounted thereon, two rows I ofsmall vanes mounted in parallelism on said

